To Say the Word
by SkyGem
Summary: Tsunayoshi Sawada has lived in Italy almost all his life, and is the rightful heir to the title of Vongola Decimo. For the most part, he has exactly what it takes to be the leader of Italy's most powerful mafia famiglia, but there is only one problem; he is mute. Due to his inability to speak, many oppose the...Full summary inside. No pairings. Now celebrating my 100th fic!
1. Prologue

Summary: Tsunayoshi Sawada has lived in Italy almost all his life, and is the rightful heir to the title of Vongola Decimo. For the most part, he has exactly what it takes to be the leader of Italy's most powerful mafia famiglia, but there is only one problem; he is mute. Due to his inability to speak, many oppose the thought of him taking over…but what no one knows is that this seemingly innocent boy is hiding a shocking secret. My 100th fic!

SkyGem: Well, in a surprising come from behind victory "To Say the Word" won the poll! Wow, that caused me a lot of trouble XD. When I woke up this morning and saw that this was in the lead, I seriously panicked 'cause, I'm ashamed to admit, I didn't have a plot ready, seeing as I expected Misunderstandings to win. All I knew was that Tsuna would be mute. I have one now, though, and I'm totally psyched about it, so I hope you all like this, ne?

Disclaimer: I don't own KHR.

* * *

**Prologue**

"Decimo, sir, we will be landing in Namimori in approximately twenty minutes."

Sawada Tsunayoshi looked away from the window and up at the man that had just spoken, holding his gaze with those piercing brown eyes of his until the man had to look away.

The brunet allowed himself a small smile before dismissing the man with a wave of his hand.

There weren't many that could hold his gaze for very long, and Tsuna made it a point to never be the first to break eye contact. It was a sign of weakness and Tsuna was already looked down upon in the mafia world for not being able to talk. He had to show everyone that he was just as capable a boss as any.

As for those in the family, Tsuna had gained the trust and respect of most, and almost all those that had accompanied him to Japan were loyal to him even before Nonno.

The boy stayed lost in thought for the rest of the trip, seeing as he didn't have much else to do, since his best friends hadn't come on the same flight as him. They would be arriving next week.

After the long and arduous process of claiming his luggage and other such things, the boy slowly began weaving his way through the crowd, his tutor and three bodyguards following closely behind him, all on full alert.

The first glimpse Tsuna caught of them was two tall heads of light brown hair on either side of one shorter head of the same light brown hair.

They seemed to spot him at the same time as he did them, and there were simultaneous, excited shouts of, "Onii-chan!"

As the two girls rushed towards him, Tsuna had to quickly sign for his bodyguards to hold back, to stop them from attacking his sisters.

And before long, the boy found himself engulfed in his twin sisters' embrace.

His twin sisters who were a year younger than him and yet were taller than him by two whole inches.

"We missed you so much, onii-chan!" gushed the older twin, Reira.

"I can't believe you're still cuter than us, though," pouted the younger twin, Reiko. "It's totally not fair."

Tsuna blushed at his younger sister's words, and shook his head, quickly signing, "I'm not cute. Not cute at all."

Reira merely laughed as she let go, saying, "Deny it all you want, nii-chan, but it's not going to make it any less true."

And now, it was Tsuna's turn to pout as he turned his head away childishly.

Nana merely laughed at her kids' antics and stepped forward to wrap her son in a hug, saying, "It's so good to see you again, Tsu-kun! You've grown so much!"

'I should hope so,' Tsuna signed back, a cheeky smile on his face. 'It has been three years after all.'

"It has, hasn't it?" asked Nana, her expression nostalgic.

Reborn, reluctant though he was to break up this reunion, tapped Tsuna on the shoulder, getting the boy's attention.

"We should be leaving now, Juudaime," he said into the boy's ear, his eyes darting around, still looking for potential dangers. "You must be tired, and Cielo is beginning to get restless." Cielo was the boy's pet German shepherd and was incredibly well-behaved, even now; if one knew him well enough, though, they would know that the slow back and forth movement of his tail and the occasional flick of the ears showed his irritation.

Tsuna nodded in response, taking Cielo's leash from Reborn before turning back to his family.

With a smile, he signed, "Let's go home, ne?"

* * *

SkyGem: Yes yes yes, very short, I know, but it is really just a prologue. The story will be starting in the next chapter, okay? In this one, I just really wanted to introduce my OCs. Please leave a review and tell me what you think of them, ne? Ciao!


	2. Why?

If one were to give a name to Reborn's feelings at this moment in time, they would probable use the word bemused.

Now, the hitman had always believed that he knew his student quite well; he had been tutoring him for about six years, after all. But now, he was seeing a new side of the brunet, one that was completely unexpected.

If Reborn thought about it for a minute, though, he supposed it made sense. Even if he had been tutoring the young Decimo for just over half a decade, he really only saw him for about four hours a day on most days, and all of that time was spent teaching his young charge everything ranging from the principles of mathematics, to mastering his sky flames, so it shouldn't be too surprising that he only ever saw one side of the person that was Tsunayoshi Sawada.

From what Reborn knew of Tsunayoshi, he'd always gotten the impression that he was quite a cold boy, not unlike most of the hitman's other pupils over the years; raised with the knowledge that he'd one day be inheriting a powerful mafia famiglia, taught that he was better than everyone else he saw around him, always having hundreds of merciless mafioso at his beck and call. The fact that he couldn't talk didn't mean a thing; just that he was that much stronger for having garnered so much respect despite his disability.

What Reborn had seen of Tsunayoshi's actions these past few hours, though, had the hitman reassessing his opinion of the boy.

First, the beloved older brother had appeared as he had greeted his younger sisters at the airport.

Then, it was the long-absent and very responsible first-born, when they had arrived at the Sawada residence, and Tsunayoshi had offered to help his mother cook dinner for everyone.

After having been rejected many times and sent up to his room to refresh and relax until dinner was ready, the somewhat cold, emotionless Vongola Decimo was back.

Reborn thought on this for a few minutes as Tsunayoshi set his bags on the floor and got to unpacking before he finally came to a decision.

"Tsunayoshi," he said, claiming the brunet's attention.

At the sound of his voice, the thirteen-year-old immediately turned around, looking at him with a questioning gaze.

"You can drop the charade," he said bluntly, and for just a few seconds, he saw Tsunayoshi's expression falter.

Then, that impenetrable mask of calmness was back in place, and he signed, "What do you mean, Reborn-sensei?"

Reborn's brows furrowed a little at this, and he said, "I'm your tutor, Tsuna, not another Family's boss that needs to be impressed. If we're going to be living under the same roof from today on, it would be best if you dropped that mask of yours."

Still, Tsuna didn't say anything, continuing to stare at him.

Reborn, though, didn't avert his gaze, as he usually did, but held it. "Show me Sawada Tsunayoshi…not Vongola Decimo."

There was a moment in which time seemed to hold still as Tsuna stared at his tutor.

He wanted to see…Sawada Tsunayoshi? Not Vongola Decimo?

How long?

How long had it been since someone other than his friends, or his mother and sisters, had wanted to see Sawada Tsunayoshi instead of Vongola Decimo?

Tsuna tried to think back, tried to remember, but only one memory came to him.

_Flashback_

"_What are you still doing on the floor, newcomer?"_

_Little, six-year-old Tsuna looked up from where he had been curled up on the floor in the fetal position to see the strange pineapple-haired boy from the next cell over staring down at him._

_The battered little brunet let out a small whimper and pressed himself back against the cold wall of his own cell, terrified. He didn't know this boy very well, except that he was always rebelling against the scientists and throwing violent temper tantrums; add to that the facts that one of his eyes was red, and he was currently bathed in blood, and one could understand why he wasn't the most welcoming of sights._

_Surprisingly, though, the expression in his eyes was almost understanding as he said, "Get up. We're finally getting out of here."_

_A little flame of hope alit in Tsuna's eyes when he heard this; were they really going to be leaving?_

"_Jutht leave him," said a new voice, and Tsuna turned to see the blond boy who shared a cell with the pineapple-haired boy. As usual, the boy talked with a lisp because of his inflamed and bleeding gums; Tsuna couldn't help but cringe when he saw the boy. Beside the blond was their third and last cellmate, the quiet boy whose hair was always matted with blood. "He hasn't been here all that long, anyways."_

"_We're not leaving him, Ken," was the pineapple-haired boy's reply. "Even if he only came last week, he's still one of us."_

_Feeling a little reassured at the boy's words, Tsuna felt some of his apprehensions disappear. The brunet quickly got to his feet, almost stumbling back down as he did so, and took the older male's hand, tugging him over to a corner of the cell, where a thin, ragged blanket covered a limp form._

_When they got there, Tsuna pulled the blanket away to reveal a silveret almost as small as him._

"_He was still alive?" came the pineapple-haired boy's surprised voice, and Tsuna looked up with pleading eyes._

_And without another word, the pineapple-haired boy bent to pick up the silveret on the floor, carrying him piggyback out of the cell._

_As the small group of five crept through the wreckage of what was once the laboratory of the Estraneo Famiglia, stepping gingerly over newly dead corpses every few feet, Tsuna clung desperately to the person nearest him._

_This person just so happened to be Ken; when the blond saw how terrified the smaller boy was, he decided that maybe, just this once, he'd ignore the tiny hand that was threatening to cut off all blood flow to his arm._

_The kids hadn't been walking long, though, before they heard it; the sound of hundreds of pairs of feet, pounding towards them._

_Tsuna let out a small, terrified squeak, but was immediately quieted by Ken's hand in his mouth._

_The next second, a thick mist had surrounded them, and Tsuna heard the pineapple-haired boy say, "Don't make a sound."_

_Tsuna waited quietly, cowering fearfully behind his newfound friend Ken, as the men that the footsteps belonged to burst into the room, spreading out immediately to look into the cells, as if searching for someone._

_It didn't take long for the tiny brunet to recognize the crest on these men's suits, and not a second after he did, one very familiar blond came rushing into view._

_With a wordless cry of relief, the young boy ran up to the Young Lion of the Vongola, throwing his arms around his legs and letting the tears overflow onto his face._

_The next second, though, the six-year-old felt himself ripped away from his father as the man grabbed him by the shoulders and shouted to his comrades, "I've found the Decimo!"_

_End Flashback_

It had been on that day, when Tsuna had sought comfort from his father and hadn't found it, that the brunet had realized that Iemitsu, just like the rest of the mafia world, didn't care about him as Sawada Tsunayoshi, but only as the Vongola's heir.

Staring back into Reborn's onyx black eyes, Tsuna used sign language to say just one word to the hitman.

"Why?"

* * *

SkyGem: Well, there's one small part of Tsuna's history revealed to you guys. Surprised? Then please leave a review and tell me what you thought, ne? Oh, and some of his guardians will be appearing in the next chapter. Look forward to it, ne? Ciao!


	3. Starting School

SkyGem: Yoohoo~ Anyone still waiting for this fic? I'm so sorry, minna-san, for taking this long to update

* * *

"Why?"

Reborn's eyebrows furrowed at this question, and he asked, "What do you mean, 'why'?"

Tsuna, his expression curiously blank, asked, "Why would you want to see Sawada Tsunayoshi? Your job is to teach Vongola Decimo."

Letting out a small growl of frustration, Reborn told him, "Before you are Vongola Decimo, you are Sawada Tsunayoshi, and because I am your tutor, it is my job to make sure that Sawada Tsunayoshi grows into the kind of man Vongola Decimo will one day be. I can't do that if Vongola Decimo is only a mask you put on when around your subordinates; Vongola Decimo needs to become a part of you."

Tsuna just stared at his tutor for a few more moments, not knowing how to react, and Reborn just stared right back.

This impromptu staring contest, though, was interrupted when Cielo, who had been getting quite bored, decided to tackle Tsuna to the floor in a fit of playfulness.

Tsuna let out a small yelp of surprise when he crashed to the ground, and was soon giggling breathlessly as a warm pink tongue licked his face, coating his cheeks in saliva.

Reborn watched in mute shock as Tsuna tried to push his dog away, still giggling breathlessly.

_Had Tsuna just __**laughed**__?_

Now, despite having known for his student for quite a long time, Reborn had never heard him laugh, and it wasn't even the fact that he was laughing that had shocked Reborn so much (even if it was in itself quite unexpected), it was the fact that these weren't _silent_ laughs. Reborn could actually _hear_ Tsuna's laughter, and the boy had even yelped in surprise when Cielo had tackled him earlier.

Immediately, Reborn reminded himself that it wasn't terribly unusual for mutes to be able to laugh and cry audibly, but there was a small part of him that began to hope.

In all the time he had known him, Reborn had never heard Tsuna make a single sound, but now that he had, new possibilities opened up in his mind, possibilities that he had never even considered before.

By now, Tsuna had managed to sit up, and Cielo was lying on the floor with his front legs resting on Tsuna's thighs, nuzzling his head against his owner's stomach. Tsuna smiled softly down at his pet; the dog seemed to have this strange habit of cuddling against the brunet's stomach and nosing his inner thighs every once in a while, which had amused and mystified a great number of people.

Stroking Cielo's fur, Tsuna looked up at Reborn, his expression suddenly becoming serious, and after a few moments of staring, he finally nodded his head.

Reborn, taking this as a sign that he would finally catch a glimpse of the boy's true self, decided not to mention his newest discovery, not wanting to destroy any progress he may have made with the boy.

* * *

After agreeing to act as himself around Reborn, Tsuna felt as if a weight had been lifted from his chest.

The young Decimo had been fully prepared to keep up his act around his tutor, but the fact that he wouldn't have to, the fact that he would be able to act even remotely like a normal teen made finally being home again just that much sweeter.

The rest of that day passed without incident, with a nice, quiet dinner with his mom and sisters (as opposed to the complete chaos he got whenever it was him and his four guardians), during which Tsuna realized just how much he had missed his mother's cooking.

Afterwards, Reira and Reiko invaded Tsuna's room to clue him in on all the gossip about Namimori; they told him who to avoid the next day at school, who he should definitely try and befriend (a certain handsome baseball ace being at the top of the list), and so on and so forth.

By the time Tsuna was able to get them out of his room, it was already late, and Reborn was glaring at him with fierce eyes.

Normally, this wouldn't have fazed Vongola Decimo the slightest bit, but right now, he was just plain old Sawada Tsunayoshi, and he was scared as hell.

The moment the bedroom door had closed after his sisters, Reborn stood from his seat, saying, "Tomorrow, we're going to be looking for some potential candidates for your empty guardian positions, so you better go to sleep now if you don't want to be tired, Tsuna."

The hitman had taken to calling Tsuna by his name in order to reinforce the idea that Tsuna was to act as himself around him, and not as Vongola Decimo.

Not even bothering to question how a grown man would be able to infiltrate a junior high undetected, Tsuna nodded sleepily, and threw open his closet door to look for his pajamas.

By the time Tsuna had found them, Reborn had already left for his own room, and Tsuna went over to lock his bedroom door before shedding his shirt.

Cielo, who had been lying on Tsuna's bed until now, watching him carefully, got up and trotted over.

Coming to a stop in front of him, Cielo looked up at Tsuna with his wide, innocent black eyes, letting out a whine before opening his mouth to lick at the skin of Tsuna's stomach, which was crisscrossed with lots of long, thin scars.

Smiling softly, Tsuna petted the dog, who then lowered his head to nose gently at the skin of Tsuna's thighs, currently covered by the fabric of his pants, but which was also littered with lots of white scars similar to the ones on his stomach.

Quickly changing into his pajamas, Tsuna lowered himself onto the floor, dedicating a few minutes to cuddling with Cielo before he went to sleep.

Even as far as German Shepherds went, Cielo was very intelligent, incredibly protective of his owner, and the main reason that Tsuna had gotten so much better than he used to be in those years before he'd gotten his pet.

Tsuna had gotten Cielo about four years ago, when the dog had been just three months old, still a puppy with disproportionately large ears and paws and full of seemingly infinite energy as he was constantly bouncing all over the place.

When Iemitsu had first brought him to the mansion, the first thing he did upon seeing Tsuna was to run up to the boy and start barking loudly and jumping, just begging to be picked up.

When Tsuna had placed the dog in his lap, he had immediately curled up with his head against his new owner's belly.

Somehow, Cielo had immediately known something was terribly wrong, and even as he grew older, no matter what Tsuna did, the young pup couldn't be convinced out of his habit. Cielo must have had some kind of sixth sense, because whenever Tsuna would feel the urges, he would appear out of nowhere and curl up next to, or sometimes even on top of, Tsuna, giving his silent support.

It had taken time, but the brunet had eventually been able to give it up with the unfaltering support of his pet, and the two had forged an unbreakable bond.

Placing a kiss on Cielo's muzzle, Tsuna got up from the floor and slipped into his bed, and was out like a light, but not before he felt the reassuring weight that was definitely Cielo settle near the foot of his bed.

* * *

One Gokudera Hayato paced back and forth restlessly, trying to get rid of his building anxiety.

His fellow guardian, Rokudo Mukuro, just sat on the sidelines, watching in amusement.

"Pacing isn't going to make the time go by any faster, you know," said the illusionist, his voice holding a distinctly amused tone.

"It helps me calm down," snapped Hayato, glaring at the other male, who just chuckled.

"Well, it's not doing a very good job."

"It's not like I can help it!" said Hayato, not stopping his pacing, "He's thousands of miles away, all by himself in a foreign country! I feel completely useless!"

Rolling his eyes at his overdramatic little friend, Mukuro said, "First of all, it's not a foreign country, it's Japan. He's lived there before, and he's with his family, and not to mention that he has three bodyguards and _Reborn_ to look after him. He'll be fine."

Hayato stopped pacing, and seemed to deflate a little.

"I know," said the silveret, his gaze glued to the floor, "But it's not only him I'm worried about. I know he'll be fine, but I just…I get agitated, being so far away from him. This is the first time we've been more than a mile apart since _that incident._"

The amused smile was immediately wiped off Mukuro's face, and the teen stood up to approach the younger male.

Ruffling his hair in an almost brotherly show of affection, Mukuro said, "Everything will be fine. Just remember that this time tomorrow, we'll be back with him, alright? In the meantime, if you have an attack, just come see me. I may not be quite as good our little tuna fish, but I can at least help distract you."

Hayato looked at him with a somewhat lost expression in his eyes for a few moments before nodding in affirmation and going back to his pacing.

Mukuro sat down with a little huff, feeling resentment building up inside him for the Estraneo.

Even though Tsuna and Hayato had been with them for the shortest time, and had gotten away without any lasting physical side effects, they had been very badly affected mentally.

Hayato still sometimes got panic attacks because of the horrific things he had experienced at the hands of the Estraneo, and Tsuna would occasionally wake up in tears. It was during these times that Mukuro was especially grateful for Cielo, and for the fact that all their rooms were in close proximity with each other, and that they had a wing all to themselves, so that no one would stumble upon one of these little episodes. It wouldn't be very good for Tsuna's reputation if rumours were to spread about him being reduced to tears due to mere nightmares; it was already hard enough having other Famiglias accept him despite his mutism.

"We'll be with him tomorrow," Mukuro repeated his earlier words under his breath quietly, only this time, he was trying to convince himself.

* * *

Yamamoto Takeshi sat quietly in his seat in homeroom, his mind preoccupied with the slump he had recently been experiencing in regards to his baseball playing. The issue was really beginning to bother him, and he really wished he had someone to discuss it with, but unfortunately, there was no one he could trust enough.

Suddenly, the boy was brought out of his thoughts as the door opened, and the sensei entered the class, followed by a tall, handsome young man with coal black hair and impossibly curly sideburns, a short-ish brunet about his age, and…was that a _dog_?

Though not entirely certain, Takeshi was rather sure that bringing pets to school was against the school's rules.

Arriving at her desk, the teacher turned to look at the class, whose attention was already completely fixed on her due to her rather unusual entourage.

Clearing her throat, the sensei started off by saying, "Minna-san, today, we will be having two new additions to our classroom. First off, I would like you all to meet Reborn-sensei, a student teacher who will be staying with our class for the rest of the year."

There were a bunch of appreciative sighs from the girls when she said this, and Takeshi was faintly amused to realize that most of them had probably already made plans to form a fan club for their new student teacher.

"And next, this is Sawada Tsunayoshi-kun, a new classmate of yours."

The girls were able to tear their eyes away from Reborn long enough to realize that even Tsuna was quite good-looking, and Takeshi was more than a little amused to see a few girls faint.

"Sawada-kun has medical conditions which deny him his ability to speak, and as a result, his help dog, Cielo, will be accompanying him to school. Please remember to be nice to Sawada-kun, give him help should he need it, and do not pet his dog without permission. Is that understood?"

There was a collective call of, "Hai, sensei!" from the class, and the teacher nodded in satisfaction.

Pointing out Tsuna's seat to him, the teacher then went on to begin her lesson, but Takeshi wasn't paying attention, his mind already on the fascinating new transfer student.

There was something different about the boy.

* * *

SkyGem: So, what did you think? Like it? Hate it? Please review and let me know what you thought! Oh, and I'm letting you all know right now that there's not going to be an enemy Famiglia in this or anything, and even if there is, it won't be a huge part of the plot. The plot is mostly going to be centered on Tsuna's guardians, and how they overcome their respective problems. So, if you all want to continue following this even after knowing that, please stay tuned for the next installment coming soon! Ja ne!


End file.
